To enable elementary students to experience the life of the visually impaired, Orbis has organised the “Orbis Blindfold Lunch” at Si Yuan School of The Precious Blood today (May 12), supported by AXA Hong Kong. Over 100 students were able to experience the difficulties and challenges the blind go through on a daily basis. During the event, Orbis Volunteer Ophthalmologist Dr. Flora Lau also revealed myths parents have on strabismus in children and shared good eye care tips with the participants.

Children with Strabismus should receive early treatment

Strabismus, the abnormal alignment of the eyes, appears in two forms, namely exotropia and esotropia. Many parents have an assumption that exotropia or esotropia will cure itself as the child grows up. However, Dr. Flora Lau, Orbis volunteer ophthalmologist, has pointed out that in most cases strabismus does not cure itself, and the child’s vision may be adversely affected if it is not treated in time.

Dr. Lau emphasised that strabismus must not be neglected. She encountered a case where a mother discovered her daughter with strabismus, and thought it was not a big deal after checking up at the Maternal and Child Health Centre because she assumed that her child’s eyes would become normal as she grew up. However, her child was diagnosed with "retinoblastoma" disorder (malignant tumor) later. The tumor grew larger which resulted in the child’s eyes going out of focus. Therefore, not only will strabismus not be cured automatically, it will also cause other adverse impacts on a child’s vision development.

Adverse Impacts of Strabismus should not be neglected

During the event, Dr. Lau pointed out four main adverse effects of untreated strabismus.

1. Impact on vision: Strabismus patients habitually rely on the healthy eye, possibly leading to amblyopia. In cases of innate esotropia in which the patient cannot move the eye outward, the chance of amblyopia increases.

2. Impact on stereopsis: Our sight allows us to develop depth and distance perception which enables us to orient ourselves. For example, if we walk downstairs with one eye closed, we cannot fully comprehend the distance between each step, making us easier to trip. If strabismus is not treated in time, the child’s development of distance perception and stereoscopic vision will be affected. Even if the problem is resolved at a later age, the child would no longer have the visual sensitivity to develop depth perception.

3. Impact on appearance: Research reveals young strabismus patients tend to have low self-esteem because of their appearance and bullying from their peers. People tend to misunderstand that the patients are impolite or distracted because they can’t look at people straight in their eyes.

4. Headache: Children suffering from intermittent exotropia may have their eyes appear normal when their eyes are focused, while showing symptoms of exotropia when their eyes get tired. Therefore, they might suffer from headache if their eyes are constantly concentrating.

Simple Precautionary Examinations

Dr. Lau suggests parents to conduct simple eye test on their children to check for strabismus: Parents sit opposite to their children, shine a torch light over the child’s eyes and observe their pupils light reflection. If parents see any asymmetry of the light reflected onto both pupils (e.g. one eye reflex at center and reflex for other eye not at the center), they should be alert and seek for medical advice from ophthalmologist.

“Vision is invaluable and we should start delivering eye care messages to kids at an early age. For this reason, over 38,000 students have joined Orbis Blindfold Lunch Campaign since 2012 and raised over HK$1.4M to support our sight saving work worldwide. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to AXA Hong Kong for their unwavering support and for encouraging their staff to serve as volunteers to these events over the last 5 years. Our gratitude must also go to all participating schools and students for their support and dedication,” said Ms. Mary Lau, Director of Development, Orbis China and Hong Kong.

Ms. Andrea Wong, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer of AXA Hong Kong said, “AXA Hong Kong is committed to raising health awareness amongst the general public, and especially around eye care amongst young students. We are delighted to support this meaningful event for five consecutive years, and are happy to witness that a lot of primary school students have benefited from this event by gaining invaluable eye-care knowledge, and for them to know they are sharing their love and support to visually impaired children in developing countries. We hope that more and more students will participate in this initiative in the future.”

In addition to AXA Hong Kong, Orbis is also thankful for the kind support of China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited, Sunday Kiss, Yellow Bus, Orbis volunteer ophthalmologist Dr. Flora Lau, Si Yuan School of The Precious Blood, Chun Tien Hua Hua Foundation and The Young Communication of Hong Kong Baptist University. For full details of this year’s blindfold lunch, please visit www.orbis.org/hkblindfold.